Angel Love
by Krystina
Summary: **Complete** A look back at Kelly and Christopher's marriage from the day they meet to the day that they got married.
1. Beginning

Disclaimer - I do not take credit for the characters Kelly, Kris, Jill, Sabrina, Charlie and Bosley. These characters are the creation of Aaron Spelling Productions. I have created all other characters that appear in the story.  
  
Early one morning, before the sun even had the chance to rise, Kelly lay in bed next to her husband Christopher, unable to sleep. She wanted to believe that she was just working too hard, that there was too much going through her mind, but by the time 3am rolled around, she admitted that she wasn't thinking about work. There was something else bothering her. For the past several days, things had been rocky between her and Christopher, but everything just seemed to get worst that night. They had always been able to work things out before they went to bed, but that night they hadn't. Instead, they had gone to bed not speaking to each other. Kelly knew it was partially her fault, but she also knew she wasn't entirely to blame.  
  
Not wanting to wake Christopher up, Kelly quietly slid out of bed and put her bathrobe on before walking out of the bedroom, trying not to make any noises. After peaking in on Kasey, Kelly then walked down the hallway into the study where she took a scrapbook out of the closet. After checking to make sure it was the right one, she walked down the steps and placed the book down on the kitchen table. She then began to boil a pot of water for tea before sitting down at the table and opening the book to the first page. Inside contained every piece of memorabilia from the day that her and Christopher first meet until the present day. She was amazed by how much she had kept, but nevertheless, each piece seemed to tell a story.the story of her and Christopher. The truth was, her and Christopher had meet 20 years ago that day. It had been 6 months after she had been shot, and although she had recovered physically, mentally she was still struggling. Images of that day had been haunting her, and she had been unable to return to the job that she once loved. Charlie had pulled some strings and gotten her hired at a local hospital as a nurse, but even that couldn't erase what had happened.  
  
Flashback: Twenty years in the past, at a local hospital, Kelly walks down the hallway distributing medicine to the patients when one of the doctors approaches her holding a chart.  
  
"Miss Garrett, would you mind giving a sedative to the patient in Room 321. Thanks."  
  
As usual, Kelly just nodded as she walked over to the medicine closet and got the sedative. Unlike when she worked for Charlie, all she could do here was nod and do as she was asked. After all, she was still the new person, and therefore what she had to say rarely mattered.  
  
When she walked into room 321, she was immediately attracted to the man that lay in the bed. His right leg was covered from his foot to just over his knee with a cast and by the look on his face, he seemed to be in a lot of pain. As she walked up to him, he seemed relieved to see her there.  
  
"Please tell me you're here with something to kill this pain." the guy asked her.  
  
"Yes, just hold your arm out and then I'll give you the shot."  
  
"Thank God. I feel like my leg is about to fall off."  
  
"Don't worry. Dr. Goldburg is a great doctor. I doubt he'd let that happen. Now just hold still" With that, Kelly stuck the needle into his arm hoping that it would at least take some of the pain away. "So what did you do, anyway?"  
  
"This.. this was stupid. I was mountain biking with some friends and went a little crazy. According to the doctor, its only broke in two places and I should be able to walk on it again in three months."  
  
"Ouch. It must have hurt a lot when it happened." Kelly stated sympathetically, just hearing about it was painful.  
  
"Actually, I think it hurts more now. Then again, I was unconscious for a few minutes and then I went into shock after that. By the way, my name's Christopher."  
  
"Hi Christopher. I'm Kelly. So how long is Dr. Goldburg keeping you here."  
  
"With any luck, just over night. One of the nurses is suppose to train me on crutches later today. Any chance that could be you?"  
  
"I might be able to arrange something. You should probably be getting some rest right now though. I'll come back later to see how you are."  
  
"I'll be waiting for you."  
  
After leaving his room, Kelly approached the head nurse and changed the assignments so that she would be teaching Christopher how to use crutches later that afternoon. She didn't know why, but there was something about him that appealed to her. 


	2. The First Year

Just like he had said, Christopher was released the next morning, and Kelly offered to pick him up and drive him to his house. After all, she had the day off, and his original plan to get home was to take a taxi.  
  
When she arrived at the hospital, Christopher was sitting in a wheel chair at the patient pick up doors. As she parked in front of the doors, he used the crutches to push himself to his feet before slowly making his way to her car. After helping him get seated in her car, she pushed the wheel chair back into the hospital before getting back in the car and driving away. At first, Christopher seemed uncomfortable, and Kelly couldn't help but to feel bad.  
  
"If you're uncomfortable, we could probably adjust the seat. Give you a little more leg room or something."  
  
"Don't worry about it, I'm fine. This is a nice car that you have. I always wanted to get a Mustang, but I could never afford it."  
  
"Thanks. An old employer actually bought it for me. I sorta needed it for work and then when I left he just sorta let me keep it."  
  
"Wow. I wish I had an employer like that. I assume it wasn't a nursing job though?"  
  
"No, I just got into nursing recently. I'd rather not talk about my previous job though."  
  
"Ok, that's fine. Would it be ok if we got together for dinner sometime though. To talk about other things that is."  
  
"Are you asking me out on a date?"  
  
"I guess I am. Assuming you don't already have a boyfriend of course. You don't have a boyfriend, do you?"  
  
"No. Dinner sounds nice."  
  
"Great."  
  
By that time, Kelly was pulling up to his house. After exchanging numbers, Kelly helped him into his house and made sure he was ok before leaving. The entire way home, Kelly couldn't get Christopher out of her mind. He was undeniably cute, but usually Kelly needed more then that to get that hooked to a man. She wasn't surprised to have a message waiting for her when she got home though. It was Christopher, and he wanted to know if she could have dinner with him that night. Not having much to think about, she immediately called him back and accepted the invitation.  
  
For the next three months, they took things easy as he continued to recover, but they never lost touch. Before Kelly knew it, she was hearing from him everyday and seeing him as many days as she had free. By the time the third month was over, his leg was completely healed and their relationship began to get more serious. Kelly was unusually comfortable with him, although she had yet to tell him about her previous job as a detective, or about the shooting that had almost taken her life. Everything was going great until they reached the six-month point and Christopher started wanting more of a commitment. 


	3. Kelly's Problem

Their plans for the night hadn't been huge, but they were both still excited about spending the time together. By then, Christopher was living in Sacramento where he currently worked, and Kelly was still in LA. Although they didn't see each other often, they were both still committed to the other, and made whatever arrangments they could to be together. Their six month anniversary was suppose to be simple, but that had all changed when Christopher arrived at her house with a small package in his hands.  
  
"Hi. You look beautiful." Christopher had told her when she opened the door.  
  
"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." Kelly responded after the two of them kissed. After closing the door, they sat on the couch as Christopher seemed to get nervous.  
  
"I have something for you, but you have to give me a chance to explain after you open it." he finally came out and told her. Her curiosity was killing her as she tore through the paper and finally opened the box. Inside there was a single key and a piece of paper with an address written on it.  
  
"It's the key and the address to my house in Sacramento. I can't stand us being a part so much Kelly, so if you'll accept, I'd like it if you moved in with me."  
  
Kelly didn't know how to respond to this. Christopher wasn't the first guy to ask her to move in with him, but unlike the others, she couldn't figure out how to tell him no. Moving in together would require a large commitment on both of their parts, and Kelly wasn't entirely sure that she would ever be ready for that. She didn't want to hurt his feelings though, or lose what they already had, so she would have to be sympathetic about it.  
  
"I don't know Christopher. I mean, isn't this a little soon. What if we wait a couple more months.see what happens."  
  
"Maybe it is a little soon, but I don't care Kelly. I love you and I want to be able to spend every day with you, not just every other week." When he said love, Kelly could feel the butterflies in her stomach start to flutter. He was bombarding her with two major parts of a relationship, neither of which she had ever been ready for before. Even if she was ready, it would be a big step for her, and after everything that had happened that year, she wasn't entirely sure she was mentally ready to deal with all of that.  
  
"Can't we talk about this later Christopher? I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat. I know a great place." Her plan was to change the subject, and hope that he went along with it. She was wrong.  
  
"You're avoiding the issue Kelly, why?" Christopher asked, apparently not moving until he got an answer.  
  
"It's just.I like you a lot, but commitments are hard for me, and it's going to take sometime before I get to that level." Kelly tried to explain.  
  
"It's been six months though Kelly. Couldn't you give me something? An I love you, or a I'll move in with you at the end of the summer. Anything to let me know that we feel the same way?"  
  
"I wish I could, but I can't, not while being sincere. What's wrong with what we have though. We were both having fun, why can't things stay like that?"  
  
"I need more then that Kelly. I need a girlfriend that I can come home to at night. I need someone who I can say I love you to. I have enough friends, what I don't have is a girlfriend." Christopher replied sort of harshly. Kelly figured she deserved it though, after all, it was her that was being the problem.  
  
"You have a girlfriend Christopher. I've never denied that. I just need sometime to get to that next level."  
  
"Fine. Call me when you get there. Assuming I haven't died from old age, maybe we can get together."  
  
With that, Christopher stormed out the door, leaving Kelly to feel miserable. If she wasn't so insecure about commitment, she could have avoided the entire scene. All he was asking for was for her to say that she loved him. They were just three simple words, yet she couldn't get them to come out of her mouth. She spent all night thinking about how she should just give in and take the chance. After all, she had learned to trust the other Angels when she had been working for Charlie. They had become her family, so why was this any different. She knew Christopher would never do anything to deliberately hurt her, so what was the problem?  
  
Desperate for advice the next morning, she picked up her phone and dialed Charlie's number. Ever since the shooting, he had been offering to help her in anyway that he could. He paid any of the medical bills that her insurance company wasn't going to cover, he had let her keep her car and he had even kept her on payroll until she was able to find a new job. What amazed her, however, was that he wasn't doing it because he felt guilty, but because he sincerely cared. Even now, a year afterwards, she could still go to him whenever she needed advice or to just have someone to listen to her. She depended on that friendship too, especially after the fight with Kris that had also severed her ties with Jill. What was even worst though was the fact that she had lost touch with Sabrina. The last time Kelly had seen her was when she had flown all the way from Italy to LA the night after the shooting just to be by Kelly's side. She had even stayed around for a month, just to be supportive and to help Kelly through it, but then after that, the communication between them came to halt. For the first couple of months there would be an occasional phone call, but then even those stopped.  
  
After the first couple of rings, Kelly feared that Charlie wasn't home, and that she would have to figure everything out by herself. Then, around the seventh ring, Charlie finally answered and explained that he had been on the phone with Bosley. Naturally, Kelly asked how Bosley was, since she had lost touch with him after she stopped working there, and then got to the reason why she was calling him.  
  
"I need your advice Charlie. There's this guy that I've been seeing, and I like him a lot. The other day though, he asked me to move in with him and I froze. I didn't know how to respond and that sort of made him upset."  
  
"Why don't you want to move in with him?" Charlie asked her.  
  
"It's not that I don't want to but more, I don't feel like I'm ready to.  
  
"This doesn't have anything to do with the fact that it was a year ago this month that you were shot, does it?"  
  
"Of course not. I've moved on from that." Kelly knew that wasn't true, however, and the sound of her voice gave it away. There was no way that Charlie would settle with that answer either. "Maybe it does. I don't know, it was a year ago, shouldn't I be over it by now?"  
  
"Angel, one year ago, you suffered through a traumatic experience that almost took your life. It's acceptable that you're still having trouble putting it behind you."  
  
"What does that have to do with me and Christopher though? He wasn't there, he doesn't even know about it."  
  
"Maybe not, but commitment has always been an issue for you Kelly. This event has just added to the fears you already had."  
  
"Maybe you're right. How do I change that though, before I lose a really great guy?"  
  
"You just have to listen to your heart. Do what you did when you opened yourself up to Sabrina and Jill."  
  
"But that took a lot of time Charlie. I had to convince myself that I wasn't going to get hurt. And."  
  
"Stop thinking about what happened between you and Kris. It isn't certain that that would happen between you and this guy."  
  
"I guess you're right. Thanks Charlie."  
  
"I'm always here Angel. Take care of yourself."  
  
"I will."  
  
With that, Kelly hung up, feeling a little better about the situation, but still not entirely sure that she was ready to make this commitment. Charlie had been right, the fact that it was one year since she was shot wasn't helping her commitment problems any. She didn't want to lose Christopher though, so she had to do something. 


	4. Marriage

After taking a couple of days to think about it, Kelly packed a suitcase and began her drive to Sacramento. While working for Charlie, she had made several trips there so she had no problem finding her way around. Christopher only had a small place so she wasn't sure how they would both fit inside. It took her a few minutes to get out of her car, and even then she wasn't sure if she was ready to knock on the door. Did he even understand how big of a step this was for her?  
  
It almost seemed like he was standing there waiting for her because soon after she knocked, the door opened. At first Kelly didn't know what to say, she was just glad to see him.  
  
"Kelly! What are you doing here?" Christopher had asked. Apparently, he had given up all hope.  
  
"I came to see you. Aren't you glad.I mean, this wasn't a bad time, was it?"  
  
"No, no. Come on in. You look great."  
  
"Thanks." As Kelly walked into the house, she was surprised to see that the outside size wasn't a true representation. The house wasn't huge, but it was spacious enough inside to accommodate two people. "So how have you been?"  
  
"Ok, I guess. I missed you."  
  
"I missed you too."  
  
"Yeah, so, I thought about what you said..."  
  
"Forget about it Kelly. I was being unreasonable. When you're ready to move in with me, then you will."  
  
"I think I'm ready now. I was being unreasonable earlier, letting silly fears get in the way. Just understand that I haven't had the best of luck with commitment and sometimes its hard for me."  
  
"I wish you would tell me why. I mean, you told me about the whole orphan thing, but then you kept mentioning something more recent. What was so horrible that made you shut out the world?"  
  
"It's hard to talk about. I still have some issues with it, and I'm afraid that if I start talking about it, then I'm not going to be able to get it out of my mind."  
  
"Tell me when you're ready then. Just know that I'm here for you Kelly."  
  
"I know."  
  
After that, things had gotten really good between them. Kelly had moved the majority of her stuff into the house, putting a few random things into a storage unit. She had also put in a transfer to a Sacramento hospital, giving her no reason to have to leave. They lived together for three year before getting any more serious. By then they had been together for three and a half years, and despite wanting to run away at certain times, Kelly had completely opened up to him. On their four year anniversary, however, Christopher came home from work with a ring box in his hands. Probably knowing that Kelly would panic if he gave her even a second to speculate, he walked in the front door and immediantly dropped down to one knee in front of her and expressed his love. At first Kelly was speechless, but when he said the words "Kelly Garrett, will you marry me?" she knew that she had to say something.  
  
"I don't know.I mean.yes I will marry you Christopher."  
  
With that, he put the ring on her finger before they embraced. Kelly never imagined that she would commit to marriage that quickly, but for some reason, it just seemed right, until she panicked that night before falling asleep. Having been independent her entire life, the thought of marriage frightened her. Marrying Christopher would mean that she would have to spend the rest of her life with him, and although she loved him, she just wasn't sure she was ready for that. Scarred, she got out of their bed, and walked outside where she leaned against her car and starred up at the moon. As a kid, she would always escape outside whenever she was scarred, or felt alone. It didn't matter if she was breaking the rules or not, she always knew which way to go so that she wouldn't get caught. She spent a good hour out there before Christopher came out and joined her.  
  
"I woke up, and I was scarred you had run out on me."  
  
"No.I just needed some fresh air. I'll be ok."  
  
"Are you sure? Cause you seemed a little uneasy when we went to bed tonight."  
  
"Yeah.maybe.I don't know. Things are just moving so fast. I feel trapped, afraid that one day all of this is just going to disappear."  
  
"Nonsense Kelly. I asked you to marry me because I want you to spend the rest of your life with me."  
  
"I know.I'm just being ridiculous, just give me some time and I'll be fine."  
  
"No Kelly.you're not being ridiculous. This is a real fear that you have, and we need to work through it together."  
  
"What is there to work through?! I'm insecure, and I'm scarred. There's nothing to work through. I just have to figure it out."  
  
"Why are you insecure though Kelly? You keep saying that, but you won't explain it to me."  
  
"It's just.(thinking it over) Never mind. I'll be ok.really. Go back to bed, I'll be there in a minute."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah. It's ok."  
  
Kelly smiled at him to give him the reassurance that he needed to go back inside. She had yet to tell him about her time as a detective, and now that they were so far into their relationship, she doubted that she ever would. She spent several more minutes out there before she finally went back inside, but after that she was fine through the wedding which wasn't until a year and a half later. By marrying Christopher, she no longer had to worry about being alone, no matter what happened. Kasey was born eight years later, and then after fifteen years of marriage, she finally told him about the incident, which had almost taken her life. 


	5. Leave it Outside

By the time Kelly reached the last page of the scrapbook, it was after 5 o'clock in the morning and the sun was just starting to rise. Stiff from sitting in the kitchen chair the entire time, she got up and placed her empty mug in the sink before walking out the front door and sitting on the porch swing. Even though it was just rising, the rays of sun felt warm as they fell on Kelly's skin. Weather wise, it would be a perfect day, but Kelly wasn't so sure that her life would reflect that. She had known Christopher for nineteen years, and now everything seemed to be falling apart. They fought constantly, and she was starting to feel trapped. She loved Christopher, but she couldn't live in such a restless atmosphere anymore. She was losing sleep, and she was becoming distant to those that meant so much to her. Something had to change, but she wasn't sure how that was going to happen.  
  
As Kelly lost herself in the sunset, Christopher woke up to find himself alone in their bed. Concerned, he got up and looked in the other rooms upstairs for her without much luck. Hoping that she hadn't headed to work without telling him, he went down stairs and noticed the empty mug in the sink, but still saw no sign of her. Losing hope that she was there still, he walked into the living room and noticed the back of Kelly's head through the window. He should have known that that would have been where she ran too. Knowing that they needed to talk, he too walked out the front door and sat down next to her. At first things were very quiet between them, and they both assumed it was because neither knew what to say.  
  
"Why do I feel like we've been here before Kelly. That every time something goes wrong, we end up sitting outside." Christopher asked her, trying to break the ice.  
  
"Because we do. We fight and then I run outside, that's how it's always worked."  
  
"Do you think we could talk about what we fought about. Try to figure everything out so maybe tonight you'll get some sleep?"  
  
"I guess."  
  
"I feel like your drifting away from me, that you're headed back to that independent path that I thought I had gotten you off of."  
  
"Why would you think that?"  
  
"Because you don't talk to me anymore. You come home from work limping, with bruises all over your body, but you won't let me help you."  
  
"You have to realize that that's just part of the job. We get pushed around sometimes, some people want us dead, but we know how to handle it, because we've been through it before. Coming home once or twice with a bruise or a sprain is nothing.we take a lot less rough cases now. Most of the criminals we're investigating are older than we are, and are guilty of embezzlement, or tax fraud."  
  
"Except for when you take on a murder case. You needed stitches in your head that time! You had a concussion!" Christopher yelled. He still couldn't get over that phone call.  
  
"I've also been shot in the head twice. When it's serious, you'll know. Until then, you just have to trust that I know what I'm doing, and that I'm not going anywhere."  
  
"I want to, but we have to keep communicating, no matter what."  
  
"I know. And I'll try to do my part. (resting her head on his shoulder) What happened to us Christopher? Why do we keep fighting?"  
  
"I don't know Kelly."  
  
"Let's stop then. Let's walk back into that house and forget about whatever it was that came between us. Let's start fresh."  
  
"I want to. It just seems too simple."  
  
"So what. Why keep fighting when we can just leave it all out here, and go inside and start fresh?"  
  
"I don't know. You know what, you're right. Let's do it."  
  
With that, they both stood up and paused before walking back into the house. They hadn't gotten to the bottom of what they had been fighting about, but Kelly rather putting it all behind them. After fifteen years of marriage, she needed him there.to keep her sane, and to avoid her from running whenever it got too difficult. Christopher was the love of her life, and no matter what, she could never run from that. 


End file.
